Blue Christmas
by CanzetYote
Summary: Oneshot. Penny Ling comforts a tearful Sunil after he recieves news of his sister's suicide on Christmas.


**NOTE:**_ Here is my Christmas oneshot LPS fic. It's not about decking the halls and Christmas carols but something much, much sadder. The reason I chose Penny Ling to comfort Sunil is because well, I'm becoming a fan of the ship. Ever since I read the summary for the episode Super Sunil (It doesn't air til January 2014), I started thinking that those two might make a nice canon ship. It's different than Sepper or Vinnil. Sunil and Penny have similar personalities so who knows? Maybe they'd hit it off. This is a ship barely anyone talks about but I decided to keep it fairly platonic here. Once Super Sunil airs, I'm pretty sure SunilXPenny will increase in popularity. It's an interesting ship. _

**UPDATE:** _Fixed for mistakes!_

The blue mongoose had just blindly dashed out of the littlest pet shop, tears stinging his eyes like acid as he raced across the icy sidewalks of Downtown City. He wasn't just running, he was sprinting and breathing heavily, trying to fight back the sobs. Without warning, Sunil slid on the icy sidewalk and fell face first into a pile of snow. Trembling as he slowly got up, he brushed the snow from his face and turned his attention to nearby central park. His fragile heart was broken inside his chest, ever since his parents sent him the postcard and ribbon, he knew his Christmas was already ruined.

Getting to his feet, he hopped over to the closest bench he could find and skittered up to the seat. The mongoose took his scarf off which held the ribbon. Sunil was now crying, tears rolling down his muzzle as he clutched the ribbon to his chest. Why did she have to be so stupid? Why did she have to kill herself? A single tear crystallized into a drop of ice on the tip of Sunil's nose before falling to the concrete sidewalk and shattering, just like his heart.

Suddenly, Sunil felt a warm paw on his shoulder. Taking a deep sniffle, he turned and saw Penny Ling sitting next to him, "Sunil, are you okay? Everyone's been worried sick, you just dashed out of the pet shop at top speed. Did something happen?"

Sunil took a deep breath and rubbed the tears from his eyes as he looked at Penny, "My...sister. I was...expecting her to visit...I..." The blue mongoose handed the panda the ribbon, "She...never takes this off. Ever. So, I knew...something was wrong...I read the letter. She c-c-c-c..." Sunil burst into sobs, too overcome with grief to finish his sentence.

The tears trailed down Sunil's muzzle only to freeze like twin rivers from the icy chill of winter. He buried his face into Penny's shoulder as sobs racked his fuzzy blue body. Penny felt tears sting her own eyes as she enveloped Sunil in a hug, rubbing his back, "I'm so sorry about your sister..."

For nearly 15 minutes, Sunil cried on Penny's shoulder and neither spoke a single word. The mongoose's salty tears left a cold, wet spot on Penny's shoulder but she didn't mind. Sunil took a deep breath and spoke blanky, "She killed herself."

Penny shook her head, "I'm sorry, Sunil. I really wish there was something I could do."

Sunil let out a deep sigh, "My sister was the strongest person I know. She would always protect me when I was too small to fight cobras. She was very independent and always looked out for me before I moved to America."

Penny blinked, "What was it like living with her?"

Sunil shook his head, "We never lived in the safest part of town. Lots of cobras. I was bullied a lot but she would always stick up for me. But then one day...she got mixed in with the wrong crowd. She...took drugs and stuff. She just got angrier and angrier. I was scared of her, but I still loved her."

Penny blinked, "So, then what happened?"

Sunil closed his eyes as he felt a lump form in his throat, "She had to be taken away from me. I begged my parents not to send her away but they had to...she was getting too violent. I remember crying for almost three days straight when they took her away. I missed her so..."

Sunil bit his lip, tears dripping from his gold eyes and rolling slowly down his face. Penny picked up Sunil's scarf and used it to brush the tears from his face. The mongoose let out a sniffle as the panda laid a paw on his shoulder, "It sounds like you've been through a lot, Sunil."

"I just wish I got to say goodbye to her..." Sunil whimpered softly as Penny handed him his sister's ribbon.

Penny rubbed Sunil's back a little to calm him, "What was your sister's name?"

"Veera." Sunil replied, "It means brave girl in Hindi. She really lived up to her name."

Penny smiled, "I think Veera is a lovely name."

There was a long silence and neither the mongoose or panda spoke a word. Sunil sniffled quietly and wiped a tear from his muzzle with the back of his paw. Penny gave him a concerned look as she patted him on the shoulder, "Are you sure you'll be all right, Sunil?"

Sunil sighed, "Yeah, I just needed a good cry. Are the others out looking for me?"

Penny nodded, "When you dashed out of the pet shop, everyone was really concerned. Downtown City can be pretty dangerous in the winter with all the ice on the sidewalk. We wouldn't want you to break your neck."

Sunil bit his lip and fiddled with his tail sadly, "I'm sorry for making you all worry, I guess I just wanted a little space."

The panda gently patted the mongoose on the back and smiled at him, "Do you want to go back to the pet shop with me? Maybe you could use a bowl of warm soup and some cookies."

Sunil smiled and hugged the panda, "That would be nice. Thank you, Penny."

"Do you want me to explain to the others about what happened to your sister?" Penny asked.

Sunil shook his head as he rubbed the ribbon with his paws, "I'd prefer you not. I just want to wait a few days first so I can recover from the shock of it. I don't want to start crying in front of everyone."

Penny nodded, "That's understandable. I'm sorry you had to get such bad news on Christmas."

Sunil sighed, "At this point, the only Christmas present I want is my sister to come back..."

Penny felt a tear of sympathy roll down her muzzle as she nodded in agreement, "I'll make sure to write a letter to Santa about it, okay?"

Tears glistened in Sunil's golden eyes as he squeezed Penny's paw, "Thank you, Penny. You are a true friend."

Penny smiled back at the mongoose, "Well, you know me. I can't stand to see my friends upset. How about we head back to the pet shop now? It's freezing out here."

Sunil nodded as he put his scarf back around his neck, "All right, let's head back. You're right, Penny. The longer we stay out here, the more likely we are to freeze."

Penny smiled, "I promise, everything will get better as time goes by. Time heals all wounds. If you ever need someone to talk to about something, talk with Vinnie or I. We'll always be there to listen to your problems."

The blue mongoose wiped his misty eyes one last time with his scarf and the two slowly walked back to the pet shop. Sunil knew there would be a bowl of soup and some gingerbread cookies to calm him and help him relax. Penny even helped Blythe make herbal tea for the mongoose. Warm and content, Sunil fell asleep curled up in his beanbag chair because with his friends by his side, he knew everything would be all right and no matter what hardships he'd go through, they would always be there for him to hug him and dry his tears. The end.


End file.
